random walk


noun

Statistics. the path taken by a point or quantity that moves in steps, where the direction of each step is determined randomly.
Physics. the tendency of particles in random motion to achieve a net displacement or to drift in a particular direction.

Origin of random walk

First recorded in 1900–05

British Dictionary definitions for random walk

random walk

noun

a mathematical model used to describe physical processes, such as diffusion, in which a particle moves in straight-line steps of constant length but random direction
statistics a route consisting of successive and connected steps in which each step is chosen by a random mechanism uninfluenced by any previous step